Finn McMissile was originally conceived for an unused scene in Cars (2006), where Lightning McQueen and Sally were seeing a spy movie, featuring McMissile, while on a date.
Out of respect for Paul Newman, who died in 2008, Doc Hudson Hornet from Cars (2006) is not included in this movie. An early scene implies that Hudson has died. However, Fillmore the Volkswagen van, voiced by George Carlin, who also died in 2008, appears here, voiced by Lloyd Sherr. Red the fire truck, voiced by Joe Ranft, who died in 2005, also appears, but doesn't have any dialogue or vocalizations.
After Mater and McQueen are done "cow tipping" the Colossus XXL, they drive past the drive-in. The movie playing is "The Incredimobiles", the Cars version of Pixar's The Incredibles (2004). A poster of the movie is visible when Holley Shiftwell and Finn McMissile are in Paris.
FRANCHISE TRADEMARK: The Pizza Planet truck appears twice: as a guest on the Tire Talk television show, and as a spectator near the end of this movie (while Mater was flying on jetpacks).
Pixar is known to include references to their upcoming productions. Characters from Pixar's next feature, Brave (2012), can be seen (as cars) in a piece of artwork on the wall in the pub in London.